Railway draft-rigging.



R. D. GALLAGHER, JR.

RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-3h 1911.

Patented Apr. 22,1919.

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Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- S vwamtoz r a m. I a W M w m R. D. GALLAGHER, JR.

RAFT RIGGING,

' APPLICATION FILED AUG-3h I917.

RAILWAY D lis mm morass.

RICHARD 1D. GALLAGHER, JR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

.5: ILWAY DRAFT-RIGGING.

Patented Apr. as, 191%).

Application filed August 31, 1917. Serial No. 189,134.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD D. GAL- LAGl-IER, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Draft-Rigging; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to draft rigging for railway cars, the objects sought and the advantages gained are a. structure of extreme simplicity with great. strength and durability which may be easily appiled-to the car framing and in which the working parts are readily accessible and removable for convenience of assembling or of repair or renewal. Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a sectional view in a vertical plane longitudinally of a draft rigging embodying the present invention, the coupler and its shank being showm in elevation.

Fig. 2 is aplan view with one half in section in a. central longitudinal plane of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevation looking at the front end of the rigging with the shank of the coupler in section on line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Fig. -Jl is a section on the line 4%, Fig. 1, looking toward the inner end of the rigging.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 1, looking toward the end of the. car and showing the rear end of the rigging in elevation.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66, Fig. 1, looking toward the outer end of the rigging.

Like reference characters in the several figures indicate the same parts.

The portion of the car frame shown, embodies center sills or stringers, A of any usual web iron construction but preferably of Z-iron form in cross section with angle iron flanges as at a and an end sill B of channel iron extending across the ends of.

the center sills as is usual, but it will-be understood that the framing is illustrative only, as the invention is adapted for use with any preferred or usual car frame.

Bridged between the ends of the center sills and supporting and in turn supported by the end sill is a front stop and bumper frame, preferably a casting, which in general cross section is of inverted U shape.

This front stop and bumper frame or castmg 1s indicated generally by the reference letter C, and for its accommodation the lower flange and part of the web of the end s1ll are cut away. The space Within the casting C is designed for the reception of the shank 1 of the coupler 2 in such wise that the coupler may be put in position or removed from below the casting and is supported in place by removable members to be presently described.

At its front end the casting C projects in the form of a bumper having a face flange 3 wlthwhich the usual horn of the coupler may contact, The casting is held rigidly in posltion by connections with both the center sills and end sill, the connections with the end sill being formed by side flanges 4, riveted to the Web of the end sill and a central upwardly extending part of web, 5, Fig. 1, located on the inner side of the web of the sill. The web of the end sill is thus confined m a transverse space defined on the front by flange e, and on the rear by the upwardly extending intermediate part 5 of the casting thus making it possible to pass the web of the end sill through the casting without making a close fit and at the same time the rivets uniting the web and both parts of the casting may be made'tight and each part to bear its proportion of the strains. The sides 6 of the casting back of the end sill are riveted to the center sills as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, a sufficient number of rivets being employed to make the strength of the attachment equal to or greater than the strength of the parts connected.

From Figs. 1 and 3 it will be seen that each side of the casting is formed with an inwardly extending substantially horizontal flange 7, constituting the upper part of bottom front stop brackets 8 and said brackets are further braced by diagonal webs 9 and vertical webs 10, the latter being practically downward extensions of the sides 6 of the casting. The rear faces of the bottom front stop brackets 8 are preferably in a transverse plane which coincides with the rear face of the center of the casting at the top which latter constitutes the top front stop 11, Fig. 1.

The front follower indicated generally by reference number 12 is, in transverse outline, substantially inverted T-shape, the upper part being adapted to abut against the top front stop and the lateral extensions 12 v against the bottom front stops 8. The front follower is of chambered formation and embodies a central front chamber 12 best seenin Figs. 1 and 2, adapted to receive the enlarged rear end of the coupler shank, the depth of the chamber being such that the coupler shank always projects within the same and the follower is consequently always supported by the coupler shank except when the working parts are to be disassembled as will presently appear. For the sake of lightness and strength the follower above and below the chamber 12 is of boxlike formation being hollow and the walls provided with the usual openings for the core supports.

The rear or back stop is preferably formed by an integral casting bridged between the center sills and chambered for the reception of the rear end of the coupler yoke and a filler block associated therewith, whereby the rear nd of the yoke is supported and the rear Follower is chambered for the reception of the filler block whereby the follower is supported in such wise that other or special supporting means may be entirely dispensed with.

The construction will be understood from Figs. 1 and 2 wherein the back stop casting is shown at 13 riveted to the center sills and at its front side formed with top and bottom back stop faces 14. Between stops 14 the casting is chambered to receive the rear end of the yoke 15 and the rear part of a filler block 16 associated with the yoke and preferably riveted thereto by rivets 17. When parts are in working position the filler block always projects partly within the chamber in the back stop castingand partly forward of the same.

The forwardly projecting portion enters a chamber, 18, in the rear of a back follower 18 conveniently of elliptical contour (see Fig. 4) and having rear stop faces 18 (Fig. 1) cooperating with the back stop faces 14.

Yielding resistance members of any preferred or known type such as spring supported friction devices or springs alone are interposed between the followers 12 and 18 but provisions are made whereby the relative movement of the followers toward each other is limited to a movement less than suf ficient to permit either follower to escape from its supporting member, 2'. e. the rear end of the coupler shank and the forward end of the filler block. On the mechanism illustrated the yielding members are twin springs 19 located between the proximate faces of the followers and held in place by projections 20 on the followers. Said projections also form the means for limiting the relative movements of the followers toward each other. The preferred normal spacing is preferably such that the projec ions will contact just before the limit of resiliencyof the springs is reached and movement of the coupler shank forward or of the filler block rearwardly will be insuificientto move'entirely out of their respective chambers in the followers.

Parts are all held in their working positions as heretofore outlined by parts performing other important functions, thus the rear end of the coupler shank is supported by a transverse pin or yoke key 21. preferably a broad flat pin which also passes through slots 23 in the sides of the front stop casting C. This pin is conveniently lipped down at one end to form a head and a retainer bracket 24 is secured to the opposite end by a bolt and nut connection.

-The coupler head is supported on a carrier iron, preferably in the form of a flat transverse pin 25 which is passed through openings 26 in 'the sides of the casting C immediately above the horizontal flanges 7 whereby the carry iron will have a broad support and b unsupported only for a distance which is little in excess of the width of the coupler shank at that point. (see Figs. 2 and 3). Conveniently the ends of the carry iron pin 25 are headed or lipped down at 25 to embrace the sides of the casting and it is held in place by bolts 26 which may be readily removed when the removal of the carry iron pin is desired. The holes in the casting in which the carry iron pin rests are enlarged vertically as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, to permit 'of the passage of the heads of li-pped ends as willb'e readily understood.

Owing to the fact that the coupler yoke key- 21 passes through slots in the yoke the yoke and filler block do not necessarily mo've rearwardly even when buffing strains are being resisted but should such movement occur the proportions are such that the follower will still be supported by the filler block. The spring seat surfaces of the followers are preferably slightly convex horizontally to permit of a slight radialmovement of the coupler even when under heavy draft strains or when the followersare in contact. In connection with the radial movement it will be noted that clearances are such that a considerable horizontal radial action is permissible -With an even distribution of the .load on the legs of the coupler yoke. The chamber in the back stop casting will permit vof some lateral movement of the yoke and it has its side walls so flanged or tapered, see at 27 in Fig. 2, that the permissible lateral or radial movement gradually increases as the coupler is drawn out under the heavy draft strains.

The followers cannot beremoved unless coupler yoke key is first removed and this key with the carry iron pin are the only locking pieces.

Convenience of assembly and disassemblv will be readily understood by those skilled memes in the art. For example, to remove a broken spring or follower it is only necessary to withdrawthe coupler yoke key and move the coupler forward and the yoke backward sufficiently to clear the followers when the followers and springs may be removed without further disturbance of the coupler or coupler yoke. To remove the coupler, the yoke key and carrier iron key are withdrawn when the coupler and its shank may be drawn forward and dropped down clear of the rigging without interfering with the yoke or other mechanism. The yoke itself may be removed by first removing the followers. springs and coupler, then drawing the yoke forwardly through the front stop casting in a horizontal direction.

What I claim as new is;

1. In a draft rigging a front stop casting adapted to bridge the space between and be rigidly attached to the center sills, said casting having downwardly extending sides spaced from each other to permit the re moval downwardly of the coupler shank, there being a center top front stop on the bridge portion of said casting and bottom side front stops on the dewnwardly extending sides of the casting.

2. In a draft rigging embodying a front stop casting having a top portion forming a bridge between the center sills and provided with a. front stop at its rear edge and downwardly extending sides formed with inwardly extending brackets forming bottom front stops, said brackets being spaced from each other to permit the downward removal of the cou ler shank and a front follower of substantially inverted T-shape for cooperation with said top and bottom front stops.

3. A draft rigging embodying fixed front and back stops, front and back followers movable toward each other between said stops and limited in their movement away from each other by said stops, said front follower being formed with a chamber for the reception of the rear end of the coupler shank whereby the follower is supported by said shank and connections whereby the shank may move forwardly with relation to the follower.

4.. A draft rigging embodying a coupling.-

I having a shank, fixed front and back stops,

front and back followers movable toward each other between said stops and limited in their movement away from each other by said stops, said front follower being formed with a chamber of greater depth than the permissible relative movement between the followers for'the reception of the rear end of the coupler shank, whereby the follower is supported by the shank, and connections whereby the shank may move forwardly with respect to the front follower.

5. A draft rigging such as specified in claim 4; in which the coupler shank receiving chamber extends rearwardly from the transverse plane of the front stops.

6. A draft rigging such as specified in claim 3 characterized by having one ofthe followers provided with a coupler shank abutting face in a transverse plane in rear' of the transverse plane of the faces of the front stops.

7. In a draft rigging such as specified in claim 3, a coupler yoke supported at its rear end to move longitudinally of the rigging and adapted to support the rear follower.

8. A draft rigging embodying a coupling having a shank, a fixed front stop, a back stop casting having a chamber therein, front and. back followers movable toward each other between said stops and limited in their movement away from each other by said stops, said front follower being formed with a chamber for the reception of the rear end of the coupler shank, whereby the follower is supported by said shank, connections whereby the shank may move forwardly with relation to the follower, and a coupler yoke extending at the rear end into thechamber in the back stop casting and supported by said casting, the rear follower being supported by and movable with rela tion to the yoke.

9. In a draft rigging such as specified in claim 8' characterized by the back follower having a chamber in its rear face, and a filler block associated with the yoke and projecting into the chamber in the back fol lower.

10. A draft rigging such as specified in claim 8 characterized by the back stop casting and back follower each having a cham her in their proximate faces, and a filler block associated with the yoke and extending into the chambers in the back stop casting and back follower.

11. In a draft rigging as specified in claim the latter, a coupler shank seating in the front follower chamber to support the latter, a removable key connecting the yoke and coupler shank, fixed bearings in which the key works to support the rear end of the coupler shank and a removable carry iron pin supporting the coupler head.

13. A draft rigging embodying a front stop and bumper casting having its upper portion forming a bridge between the center sills and extending forward beyond the end sill toform a bumper face, the intermediate ortion of the top of said casting being ormed into a substantially vertical Web to rest against the inner face of the end sill web and flanges arranged to face oppositely to said vertical web to rest against the outer face of the end sill web, said casting having downwardly extending sides spaced apart for the admission of the coupler shank and rearwardly facing top and bottom front stops.

14. A draft rigging embodying a bumper and front stop casting having downwardly extending sides spacedapart to admit the coupler shank from below, said sides having inwardly extending flanges and vertically enlarged carry iron openings above said flanges and a carry iron having headed ends adapted to pass horizontally through said openings and engage the outer faces of the sides to tie said sides together.

RICHARD D. GALLAGHER, J R. 

